[73.09] Minutes scale search for a pulsar in SN 1987A

T. Narita, H. Ogelman (Univ. of Wisconsin), C. Gouiffes (SACLAY)

We have searched for an optical emission from the putative
pulsar in SN 1987A using the European Southern Observatory
(ESO) New Technology Telescope (NTT). A series of one minute
photometric observations were taken on October 1991 in the
search of variability of the SN remnant on the minutes to
hours time-scales, possibly due to the interaction of the
pulsar and the surrounding cloud. The relative magnitudes of
the SNR and the two nearby companion stars were measured to
the 1% level and no significant variability was found. If
there is a pulsar at the center of the remnant, we estimate
an upper limit of R magnitude fainter than 24.